Editor’s Note: Lots of emails as we launched this special edition of TI Life. This is a River community project and you can watch the excitement if you go on a computer. Go to iTunes, App Store, Apps, iPad then via the quick links on the right, select the category books. Going straight to Books will only get Kindle style, text only books. One in a Thousand is an App, not a conventional book. On iPad, it's app store, top charts, apps, books. This will allow you to see how One in a Thousand is selling! Readers also requested that we put the App Store buttons in two places on the page. Delighted to oblige!
When I learned that Ian Coristine was writing a new book I got excited. As perhaps one of his most devoted fans (his contributions to Thousand Islands Life are immeasurable), I decided to put out a special edition of TI Life to celebrate his latest accomplishment, his interactive iPad eBook – One in a Thousand. I wanted to make sure that EVERYONE knew that this special eBook was available.
All books are intended to sell, but we do not know what kind of impact these new technologies will have. You will see by the Introduction (a narrated video below) that this eBook for the iPad is different for it gives the reader a chance to ride along on his voyages:
“One in a Thousand–A Flight of Discovery”, Available on iTunes App Store.
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$8.99 at the iTunes Store, available now. |
In 1992, Ian took off from Hudson, Quebec on a random flight with two friends, all three in their Challenger ultralight floatplanes. With no particular destination in mind, they happened to follow the St. Lawrence to the Thousand Islands. Ian was awed by what he saw. Eventually, he found an island for sale with, most important of all, a perfect cove to protect his small plane.
One in a Thousand describes his challenges in acquiring Raleigh Island, the restoration of the derelict cottage, and his adventures in the air, and on the water, as he immersed himself in a new and unexpected career.
The single-minded determination developed while pursuing a racing career, led Ian down a winding path chasing another dream - flight, eventually becoming an iconic photographer of the Thousand Islands and an award winning publisher of best-selling books. Along with the text, Ian's story is told with photographs taken from his Challenger, low above the islands, stunning, high resolution images, galleries and slideshows.
Book Reviewers
I asked three TI Life authors to review One in a Thousand: Chas and Judy Cochand, Larry Golden and “Johnny Truesdell” of ABay.com.
Chas and Judy live a long way from the Thousand Islands and are not closely connected with the River. We wanted a perspective from someone that would read the book for its content, and not because they already love the River. The Cochands live in England, but visit Canada’s Lake Simcoe every summer. Chas discovered TI Life when Kim Lunman wrote her history of the steamship, Magedoma, now called Cangarda. He realized the connection to his family and wrote: Charlie and The Magedoma… Romance and Tragedy on the River for TI Life in August 2011.
Larry Golden and his wife, Jo Anne, children and grandchildren spend their weekends and much of their summer on Wellesley Island. His love for exploring new technology led to his discovery of the Flipboard app and its ability to turn RSS feeds into true "magazines”. He shared this in Do you have an iPad?… in our July 2011 issue.
“Johnny Trusdell’s” ABay.com is celebrating 16 years of service to the community which includes a sister site, www.abaycams.com, ABay.com gets 5,000-10,000 unique visitors, daily, depending on the content. In fact, there is no other site that provides as much rich content about the US Thousand Islands as this site.
Collaborators
Ian collaborated on his memoir with Donna Walsh Inglehart, an author who has also taught writing for many years.
Donna spent many summers in the Thousand Islands and used the region as the setting for Breaking the Ring (Little, Brown), a young-adult novel she wrote for her daughters. She set her Civil War novel Grindstone (Troubador Interactive), in the same area. This work of historical fiction is based on an island legend, as well as accounts of a Confederate spy ring in Toronto, and the Irish immigrants who settled in the Thousand Islands.
Donna met Ian when she "finally summoned the courage" to ask him for one of his photographs for the cover of Grindstone. Ian's response was immediate and open-handed. "Of course," he said. "Use anything you want." When he read a few chapters and understood what Grindstone was about, Ian practically dragged Donna by the hand to get it published. He had found what he calls another "kindred spirit," someone who respects and values the history and beauty of the River. It was a natural and logical step for them to begin working together on Ian's manuscript.
Another collaborator is the Canadian folk rock band, Great Lake Swimmers, whose music is built around the melodic songs of singer-songwriter Tony Dekker. Ian first discovered the Swimmers when he heard their music and an interview on the CBC Radio program The Vinyl Café, taped at the Gananoque Playhouse. Ian invited the Toronto-based group to Raleigh in 2008.
The band accepted Ian’s invitation and recorded music for their album Lost Channels in the Thousand Islands. The group returned in 2009 to perform two concerts at the launches of Ian's fifth book The very best of Ian Coristine's 1000 Islands at the Clayton Opera House and Brockville Arts Centre. They also filmed a music video for their song “Palmistry” aboard Bytown Brigantine's tall ship Fair Jeanne, while she sailed through the islands. Their collaboration for the eBook was a natural. (This spring the Swimmers are touring Europe, the States and Canada to promote their latest album, New Wild Everywhere which was launched to rave reviews in April.)
GLS’s Tony Dekker was interviewed by by François Marchand for PostMedia News which described their participation:
“…There’s instrumentals of some of the songs that will appear in some of the videos of the Thousand Islands that our friend Ian Coristine took from his Challenger aircraft. He’s the one that basically helped us with the recording of Lost Channels. He was our guide and got us into all of the spaces there. He’s published all these amazing books of aerial photography, which are beautiful. I also wrote a piece of music for one of his slideshows. It’s a really interesting project because it’s basically his memoirs. .. it’s a great book. We’re pretty thrilled to be a part of it.”
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The eBook technology was developed by Doug McLellan and Caroline Yung of Wood Isle in the Lake Fleet group. It was Doug and his team at McLellan Interactive in Toronto who created a state-of-the-art iPad application with embedded images, audio, video, narration and slideshows that bring One in a Thousand to life.
For many years the McLellan Group had been “telling stories” for some of the largest Canadian corporations such as RBC Financial Group and Rogers Communications. With the release of One in a Thousand, McLellan Group’s creative team is taking book publishing to an entirely new level. Certainly their team of innovators, who strive for excellence, were a perfect match for Ian’s quest for perfection.
As McLellan developed the videos, they also created a tutorial that shows how to move easily through the eBook plus a two-stage interactive map for locating photographs.
And the final link in creating this wonderful eBook is DxO Labs in Paris. They produce software for professional and serious amateur photographers around the world, and have won countless awards and accolades for what they do.
Ian has praised them before by saying, “What they do is quite amazing. One by one, they have scientifically analyzed virtually every quality camera and lens in the world. This took years to do, of course, and is ongoing with the latest offerings. The basic concept is that all cameras and lenses are inherently flawed, distorting images to a greater or lesser degree depending on how much money one is willing to spend on equipment. But even the most expensive equipment has flaws.”
He explains, “When digital photography emerged, a miracle became possible. Once they had a precise understanding of exactly what a camera body or any given lens was doing wrong, they could rearrange the pixels to make it perfect! Think this though. It means that every image instantly becomes technically perfect, as though you own
better than the best equipment. Of course DxO can't aim the camera for you or provide a compelling scene, but it means that every picture your camera takes (once processed) is technically the absolute best it can be! Huge thanks to DxO's amazing image science and all it has done for serious photographers.”
Final links
The final link to see for One in a Thousand is the website created by Mike Cox who uses DotNetNuk to create dynamic websites. You may recognize the name Mike Cox and Creative Design Solution, as he is another wonderful volunteer on the TI Life team. Mike designed and maintains the website for us each month. For One in a Thousand, Mike adapted the App to the webstie. Even if you do not own an iPad you can see how interactive it is from the website.
Although not involved with the ebook per se, another team member was Dave O’Malley, master graphic designer from Aerographic Creative Services. It was Dave who produced compelling layouts of a sample chapter and a PDF which was used to convey to App developers what Ian was trying to do.
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Ian Coristine in his Challenger. |
Readers of the May 1st. Edition, asked that we also put the App Store information at the top of the article. Either App button will take you to iTunes. |
Thank you Ian
Ian and I talk via email several times a week. He is my source of photographs and opinions; he is my mentor.
My last email from Ian stated: “I'd pretty much always done things on my own. This is the first time I've seen what a truly talented larger team, bringing many different skills to the table, can accomplish. Remember, it's not just a book that has been created here, it has been the invention/creation of a whole platform and delivery system, before even turning to the content. Forgive me for saying it, but this was a major accomplishment. I only played a small contributing role in it by providing my material. It's also staggering to understand that as of Christmas/New Years, this project was fully dead in the water. Think that part through with the short amount of time they had available. Whether the book is good or bad is irrelevant. They have accomplished the impossible, a stunning achievement!”
On behalf of our 5000+ Thousand Islands Life readers, I want to thank Ian for capturing images of those places we love, for bringing this, our favorite place to life through this new technology, and for allowing us to share his memories.
I know many of you do not have an iPad, yet, so I hope you will soon visit your Apple Store! I know that you will enjoy One in a Thousand.
By Susan W. Smith, susansmith@thousandislandslife.com
Editor, ThousandIslandsLife.com
.jpg "Sample page of videos")
